


What A Time To Be Stuck In

by garfunkle



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Area 77, Hermitcraft season 6, Hippies, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Time Travel, broship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:34:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25038562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/garfunkle/pseuds/garfunkle
Summary: The hippies, currently in the Alpha version of Minecraft, need to return to the current Hermitcraft sever. They construct the makeshift time machine with the limited resources they have, and hope for the best. Of course, not everything works out as planned. It seems like they may be permanently stuck. More importantly, they aren't alone.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 112





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> please note: chapters from this point on will be much much longer! this is just a bit of a warm up/introduction, as i'm still figuring stuff for this story out. my apologies! i will try my best to get chapter 2 up and running! and trust me, it will be longer

The sun shone through the textured windows, casting choppy shadows throughout the mock-up time machine. There was an edge of uncertainty in the cramped space that Grian, Ren and Impulse currently stood in. It didn't feel the same as their previous time machine, but it was the best they could do with the limited materials provided in this strange world. The rays plastered onto his fellow hippies, as Grian gave a large inhale.

This _should_ work.

_I got them into this mess, I’m going to get them out of it too. This has to work…_

He couldn’t fail them. He had to get this right. He didn't want to be responsible for any more of those stupid mistakes he was so prone to making. Except, this wasnt just a stupid mistake. This was an inconvenience. He was an inconvenience. They’d never forgive him for any of this, even if his far fetched idea succeeded. What would they do? What could they do? This is the only idea Grian had. If this fails then-

It wasn't long till Grian had realized he’d been unknowingly holding in his breath, and he could feel his friends’ fixed gaze onto him, awaiting his signal. Alas, Grian only shifted uncomfortably instead.

“It’s still the same tight squeeze it was before, so you must have built it right,” Impulse said, breaking the tension with a low chuckle. Ren nervously smiled in response, fidgeting with the clock he held in his hand. Impulse however, seemed to have his hands grasping at the compass, as if it could dissolve in his hands at any given moment. They seemed at least slightly hopeful, why couldn’t Grian?

“Uhh hold- hold onto those items for me…” Grian’s hands immediately began to tremble, as Ren and Impulse let out words of acknowledgement and held their ground.

This _has_ to work.

Grian hesitantly reached for the first button to his left, still feeling the stare of the hippies on his back. The stone buttons almost shone in the light, they emitted an unsure feeling into his chest, an uneasy feeling he had never felt when pressing buttons. This was different, though. There was no fun and carefree energy in this environment, no redstone contraptions conjured by his fellow hermits he could tamper with. This was serious. Without another thought, he pressed the farthest button to the left, just behind Impulse. Returning to the nearest button to repress it, Grian’s shivering died down.

_This feels familiar enough._

It's _going_ to work. He could feel it now. Or, at least he was telling himself that to feel calm. The last step was now at hand, pulling the lever. One arm glued to his side, he inched closer to the lever. Grasping at the tip, he felt a wave of sudden confidence. It feels the same, there's no reason it shouldn't react in the same way. They will all be able to go home, and return to their work. They’d return, and everything would be the same.

With a large exhale, he yanked the lever downwards.

  
  



	2. The Breaking, The Breakdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time machine doesn't seem to be functioning... What does this mean?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this one is short again, i've gotten caught up with irl stuff, my birthday gifts i got have been distracting me a tad pff... hope this at least tides you guys over! although uh... it ends on a little bit of a cliffhanger. i promise this time, chapters after this will be longer (around 10,000 words or so hopefully)! anyways, enjoy! still rusty with writing, but i tried :]

Silence. 

No blinding illuminating light. 

There are no sounds other than shuffling feet. 

_ Nothing. _

Empty. Grian feels empty. An immediate pit in his stomach forms, and in seconds he has lost all confidence he had. He closes his eyes, and drowns out any sounds. Maybe it's all a dream and he’ll just wake up back at home. _ Home _ . Dread fills Grian’s mind in an instant. Will they ever go back? Will they ever escape this place? Will he ever  _ fly  _ again? Feel the wind in his hair and live as if he has no worries? Will he ever see-

_ His other friends. _

Grian suddenly breaks down in tears. It's so sudden in fact, that he almost falls over. Luckily, Ren and Impulse just about catch him, dropping the items they had been holding and carrying him out of the failed machine.

Tears are streaming down Grian’s face, and he’s struggling to breathe. His eyes are still shut, and he's almost gone limp. As if he’s given up on all hope. And in a way, he has.

He’s given up hope in  _ himself. _

Still no sounds. There's a distinct ringing in his ears, and it's almost too much.

He’s ruined everything. All of this is his fault.

“Grian, please brea…” Grian just about makes out Impulse’s shaky voice, or was it Ren’s? At this point, it's hard for him to tell. There's still a very distinct ringing that will not leave. He lets out more erratic breaths, clearly not slowing down anytime soon. 

He’s trying to open his eyes, he really is. But at this point in time they’re closed shut. His thoughts will not leave, thoughts of failure, disappointment, utter  _ worthlessness _ . He’s caused so many things, it follows him around. It's almost as if that's just who he is. 

An inconvenience.

“Grian… Grian please, we’re here, it’s alright. It’s going to be okay. Deep breaths. Focus on our voices, okay? It’s okay.” The ringing in his ears has died down, he can just about make out the voice of Ren comforting him.

_ But it’s not okay. None of this will ever be okay. _

He wants so badly to say that, to blurt out his frustrations in him. He can't stand not being held accountable. None of what he's done has been okay. It's all a mess.  _ His  _ mess.

And yet, despite his current state, he still tries to speak.

No coherent words. Instead, what comes out is a choked sob and more raspy breathing.

“No- no Grian, don't. Don’t speak. You  _ need  _ to breathe slowly first. Can you do that for us?” Impulse cuts him off swiftly, his tone wavering. And so, ever so slowly, his breaths become less sporadic. He feels sudden movement around him, and he flinches at a sudden hand on his clenched fist. It isn't a stagnant hand either, it seems like it's slowly rubbing its thumb over his knuckles. Somehow, miraculously, he’s feeling more calm. His shuddering has decreased, but his eyes are still shut. He wants to wake up from this nightmare and make sure he  _ knows  _ this isn't real. But he knows it is. There's no escaping reality.

The soothing feeling of a hand tracing over his fist manages to bring him back to his senses. In fact, it's just enough for his eyes to loosen their tight shut state. He feels his eyes burn with tears, as he ever so carefully opens each eye.

There, on the soft, bright green grass in front of him, Ren sits to the right with one arm wrapped around his raised knee. His other arm is idly reaching for Grian’s hand, still continuing the comforting movement. Impulse is knelt down on his left, his hands by his sides keeping him supported. They seem blank at first, their expressions almost unreadable. But as Grian’s breathing somewhat returns to normal, he sees his friends’ faces ever so slightly light up.

Grian can't bear to imagine what he currently looks like. He must be a disheveled mess, and to some extent he doesn’t want to know. Despite that, he lets both of his fists unfurl, as he brings his left hand up to his face. He feels the cold, searing tears and immediately regrets doing so. He feels  _ exhausted.  _ At this point, he wonders if he can even speak.

When he tries doing so, his voice is quiet and dry. He’s not even sure he’s said anything, but at least he made an effort. He feels  _ embarrassed. _

He stops staring ahead of him to glance from Impulse to Ren with interest. They both seem to be in distress, and they seem to be awaiting some kind of a response.

Grian doesn’t know if he can say anything at all. So, the silence fills the air. It’s almost comforting in a way, after being sent into a horrible panic.  _ Panic that I initiated,  _ Grian immediately thinks.

“G, are you alright now?” Ren breaks the silence, pulling away from Grian’s right hand and bringing his palm down to tug the grass beneath them.  _ How did we all end up on the ground  _ is Grian’s next thought, but he desperately tries not to think about it. Besides, that thought isn't enough to top the embarrassment, guilt, and weighing self consciousness he feels for having such an uncalled for reaction. He currently tries to think about anything other than what just happened. A shaky inhale, and-

“I… I t-think so,” he barely manages to respond without a waver in his voice. He trembles a bit, sniffling away whatever dignity he had just lost. How embarrassing. In fact, how  _ selfish  _ of him.

“Well- what I’m worried about is if you guys are uh... are okay,” he continues, trying to avert the attention currently on him that he so desperately wants gone, and gestures vaguely to his friends’ faltering expressions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you've thought of this chapter or idea so far, i'm curious! anyways, thanks for reading, it keeps me motivated knowing people may be interested!


	3. Hopeless, Helpless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What will the hippies do? What will Grian do? What is there left to do other than wait for a possible escape?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> goodness me im so sorry for the late release! i'll try my best to make updates more frequent. anyways heres chapter 3!

Ren and Impulse shuffled uncomfortably.

“We’re… We’re fine.” Impulse says, hesitating slightly. Ren nods slowly in agreement, slightly shaking where he sits.

_ They are  _ not _ fine. They must be so upset. _

Grian gives an uncertain look to both of them. He raises up a hand to massage his forehead, and runs it through his ruffled hair. His head is pounding, and he feels as if he’s going to be sick. It doesn't help that they currently sit in a bright luminous green grass, a colour so saturated that it begins to burn Grian’s eyes from staring too long.

“Well uh, guys, maybe we should head back inside. It’s getting close to night you know,” Ren suggests, struggling to stand up. He offers a hand to Impulse, and goes to help Grian up as well.

Grian, head still spinning rapidly, stays in his sitting position. He doesn’t seem to acknowledge the palm in front of him, as he closes his eyes to help rest the burning he currently feels. Ren sighs, and instead rests his hand on Grian’s shoulder.

“Come on, G.” He flinches at the sudden contact breaking his thoughts, but nods and moves to stand. He seems to get up too quickly, and stumbles slightly. Luckily, Ren grabs his hand to help him steadily stand. Impulse walks towards the entrance to their shelter, and opens the door for the three of them, standing out of the way of the entrance.

Grian’s mind is currently racing as they slowly but surely walk towards the structure they’d built. He wants to go back to the Hippie Commune. He wants to be back  _ home. _ The place where they currently reside is only a house, if it can be even called that. It’s constructed poorly of dirt, oak wood planks and cobblestone. It feels nostalgic though, reminiscent of everyone's first base. Ren shuts the door behind them, and slides down against the wall to sit on their unfinished wooden floor, mixed with sand in many places. 

It seems as if no one knows what to say, as the light from their windows slowly fades into a night sky. There’s nothing they can do right now, other than sit in complete silence and contemplate things. Grian’s worried look moves to Ren, who seems to be breathing heavily. He must feel  _ terrified.  _ Impulse sits completely still, looking up to the ceiling. Grian can tell from the look in his eyes that he’s in deep thought. He wants to apologize for, well, everything. He reaches for his forehead, and lightly facepalms himself. His eyes still feel tired, and he just wishes he could sleep the night away in his comfortable bed. He wants to be back home already. He wants this all to  _ end. _

He breathes in.

“Guys I-”

A bang echoes from outside their house, and a faint growling cuts off Grian’s words.

“Oh great, zombies,” Impulse promptly states, grumbling in annoyance as he stands and draws his sword. He goes to the door, and pushes the zombies back as far as he can before getting hit. Impulse lets out a gasp, Clearly losing strength. Grian can't blame him, he doesn’t think he can even stand right now. The mobs in this strange universe also seem much harder to fight, they move unpredictably and seem to have a longer reach at their opponent. Ren gets up without a word to help Impulse, pacing fast towards the opened door and unsheathing his axe.

Grian just sort of sits there, watching as they battle out the creatures of the night. He slowly goes to reach for his own sword, but he immediately falters.

_ You’ll mess up again. _

Grian can hear them chatting to one another, it seems like they’re trying to get their mind off everything with light banter between the two of them. 

Grian  _ wishes  _ he had the power to do that, to not overthink things and not focus on the present so much.

He breathes in, putting his sword back. He wants so badly to help his friends, to fight by their side and be of some assistance. It seems that at this point, he feels rather worthless. He doesn't want to jeopardize their friendship even more. He doesn’t want to keep making mistakes. Maybe, if he stays far away from the action, he won't hurt anyone anymore. If he was here alone, if he hadn’t dragged his fellow hippies into this mess, he’d be okay. Yes, he’d have no one there with him, but at least he wouldn’t feel an overwhelming guilt dripping down his back. He shudders, feeling cold and helpless. He feels selfish again. He’s always putting his friends in danger, constantly ruining their chances at survival.

As if these feelings weren’t enough, he thinks back to the time machine. He thinks back to his eagerness to start it again. He thinks of his  _ unforgivable  _ mistake and shrinks into a ball. He needs to help somehow without risking things with his friends.

_ Maybe there's another way to get out of here… _

Grian reaches for a stick in his pocket, and draws in the patch of sand next to him. This dusty wooden floor has to be the most uncomfortable thing he’s ever sat on. No matter, he thinks long and hard about possible ways for the three of them to escape. It's not like he’s going to sleep tonight anyways.

After quite a while, cold draft enters the house as Ren and Impulse emerge from the darkness, clearly injured and drained from their constant fending off of the ghouls outside. Grian only quickly glances at them, feeling small as they both stare at him fidgeting with his stick in hand. His straight face falters, as he turns away from his friends and frowns. After that, he doesn’t want to look up from where he’s been scratching random words and shapes into the grainy sand. He’s desperately trying to think-

“We lit up most of the outside circle of our base, we shouldn’t have as much of a monster problem in the future,” Impulse says, sighing as him and Ren sit back down.

Grian shudders at his phrasing,  _ future.  _ How long will they be stuck here? Grian feels his thoughts become ridden with anxiety. He needs to say it.

“I’m so…,” he whispers under his breath, catching Ren and Impulse’s attention from across the shelter. He balls his hands into fists, still grasping at his stick.

“I’m so sorry… I’m so lost and just- just not quite sure what to say other than… I’m sorry.” He speaks rather quietly, avoiding eye contact at all costs. He almost doesn’t want them to respond. Ren and Impulse look at one another, and back to Grian with remorse.

“You know, G…” Ren starts, tracing his pointer finger in the cracks of the wood planks, trying to think of something to say. He looks to Impulse for help, not sure how to phrase his words. Impulse seems to notice this, and whispers to Ren quietly. He nods, and turns back to face Grian.

“It’s fine, really. We’ll figure out a way out of here, I promise you that.” Although Ren said it with lots of confidence, Grian could tell he wasn't hopeful. They were just trying to make him feel better about this. Grian shakes his head, and sighs in defeat.

“ _I’ll_ figure this out guys, I've caused enough trouble as is.” Impulse and Ren shift at that, seeming even less hopeful than they were a second ago. Regardless, they both mumble out small words of acknowledgement, and hunker down on the wooden floor to sleep.

Grian doesn’t want to sleep, it doesn’t even feel like he can. He worriedly glances around their house, writing more nonsense into the sand. At this point he’s just been digging a hole. Almost like he’s been digging a hole for  _ himself _ in all of this.

It takes a few hours, but eventually Grian can’t keep his eyes open any longer. Slowly but surely, the world around him goes dark as he falls into slumber.

  
  


**…**

  
  


The sun shone over Sahara, as Mumbo looked over the shopping district feeling a sense of pride.

It's a Sahara meeting today, and he’s managed to collect tons of stock for his fellow Architechs. It’s usually Iskall who gathers the most stock, but Mumbo believes he has him beat this time. He can't wait to talk to them, he’s been so caught up in redstone projects around his base lately that he hasn't been able to see the other hermits as much. Especially Grian, as far as Mumbo knows he’s been busy being a hippie with Ren and Impulse. Or, at least he thinks it’s Ren? He keeps telling everyone that he doesn't know who ‘Renbob’ is, but as far as Mumbo can tell it's just Ren in a generic hippie outfit. At this point, he’s not even sure.   
  


“Ey Mumbo!” He hears the familiar voice of his Swedish friend, and sees him running towards the store front. Mumbo chuckles, and hops down from the top of Sahara with his elytra. 

“Nice of you to show up to this meeting, I know you’re just  _ so  _ good at attending them,” Iskall teased, his sarcastic tone so obvious that Mumbo laughed in response, and harshly nudged him in the side with his elbow. Iskall let out a loud ‘ow’.

“Rude! This is a professional meeting dude, serious buisness.” Mumbo laughs once again, and rolls his eyes. They were anything  _ but  _ professional. Mumbo walked forwards, making his way towards the meeting room with Iskall close behind.

“I’m busy with redstone, you can't just expect me to not get caught up in my work. Also, Grian isn’t any better at showing up than me!” Iskall lets out a huff of protest as he walks into the large meeting room and sits on Grian’s chair. Mumbo is about to call him out, but Iskall just lounges back into it and sighs.

“Don’t worry, I understand what you mean. It seems like the ‘CEO’ is late for his own arranged meeting! Speaking of which, I haven’t seen much of the guy lately. Have you?” Mumbo shakes his head, and brings a hand up to rub his chin.

“I’ve been busy, remember? It’s been quite awhile since i’ve even seen the sun,” Iskall chuckles at that, and mutters ‘ _ typical Mumbo’  _ under his breath. They were quiet for a second, till Mumbo piped up again.

“Now that I think about it, it  _ is  _ a bit odd that he isn’t here at the meeting  _ he  _ arranged.” Iskall nods slowly, playing with a pencil in his hands.

“Well, you know the guy, he gets into all sorts of trouble,” The swede says, twirling the pencil between his fingers in impatience. Mumbo slightly noded in agreement, as he sat down in his own chair. They waited there for a least 40 minutes, tapping on the desk and humming in boredom. Mumbo had to admit, he was a tad worried. It wasn't like Grian to arrange a meeting and not show. Iskall seemed worried too, his expression slowly falling into mild confusion. 

Suddenly, Doc, Scar and Tango arrived at the entrance to the meeting room, fresh panic clear on their faces. Mumbo jumped out of his chair in surprise, and Iskall turned to face the three panicked hermits. They were panting, worry painted across their faces

“Have you guys seen Ren, Impulse or Grian??”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops, another cliffhanger,,, listen i promise i'll clear up whats going on next chapter...... hope you enjoyed anyways :] comments nd stuff are highly appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for giving this a quick read! i really look forward to writing more, as i've had this idea for quite some time now :] also shameless plug but i do have an instagram where i post art! its @garfgunkle if you're interested


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